Reflections

मन ब्रह्म है - यह अध्यात्म दृष्टी से उपासना करें ; आकाश ब्रह्म है - यह आधिदैविक दृष्टी से उपासना करें ; इस प्रकार अध्यात्म व अधिदैवत दोनों का उपदेश किया गया . मनःसंज्ञक के चार पाद - वाक् , प्राण , चक्षु व् श्रोत्र ; अधिदैवत { आकाशसंज्ञक ब्रह्म } के चार पाद - अग्नि वायु आदित्य व दिशाएं    … मनोमय व् आकाशसंज्ञा ब्रह्म के पाद का वर्णन : वाक् अग्निरूप ज्योति से प्रज्वलित होता है ; वायु से ही प्राण दीप्त होता है   व् गंधग्रहण करता है ; आदित्य की ज्योति से ही चक्षु   दीप्त होता है ; श्रोत्र   शब्दग्रहण के किये दिशायों द्वारा प्रोत्साहित होता है This above is a summary of छान्दोग्योपनिषद तृतीय अध्याय अष्टादश खंड , referenced and/or translated   and/or summarized from     छान्दोग्योपनिषद गीता प्रेस पृ ३१२ - ३१६ and सुबोध उपनिषद् संग्रह पृ ३६३ - ३६४ . RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEECH AND GOD There are many learnings from this chapter of The Chhandogya Upanishad summarized above - I state

BOOK REVIEW : INDIA’S MOST FEARLESS 2 TALES OF BRAVERY Tales of Bravery are always an education – and if they are from our Armed Forces, then they are not just an education, but also a pilgrimage and a journey into the rarified environs of those people who give our country their all. In a fast moving materialistic worl d, it does us civilians good to read of {and see, through the attached images} the people who willingly take risks so that our country and its people {people like us} – remain safe. And, if, like me, you are an Army Brat – then it is a very special experience indeed; because to us these stories touch close to our own memories… THANK YOU FOR … This is the 2 nd book written by Shiv Aroor; the first – India’s Most Fearless, reviewed here – came out a couple of years ago. In it, I had made a couple of points, namely – the equal coverage to the IAF and The Navy; plus the focus on the human aspect, family aspect of the stories. This is the key point

I have written on silence before – though that was on its attractiveness and allure. Several months later, having had this feeling for all of this past period of time since the previous article – I feel I am better able to articulate silence in terms that perhaps can be related to more easily. In other words – a deeper description of silence and its parameters. Yes – parameters {plural}; for silence has many sides to it; possibly limitless in number. It has many moods, shades, emotions and has a variety of flows to it; it is not stagnant, neither is it stable; it is a free flowing wind. Silence is all of the above, and more. Image Source : Pixabay TYPES OF SILENCE Silence is a state of mind, and can be contemplative, despondent, desperate, delighted, ecstatic, happy, calm, peaceful, flowing, emotive and many other shades. Each is a different, unique silence; and each type of silence is a book in itself. A perceptive person – a truly perceptive person – can read your si